Excess Sugar Bad for Heart

(IANS) Too much of sugar can be bad for the heart in the long run, according to a study by American researchers.

Sucrose a type of sugar found in sweetened beverage, has been shown to cause type 2 diabetes in fruit flies which leads to heart malfunctions, said the study by scientists at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, La Jolla, California.

The fruit flies (established models for studying human health and disease), which were kept on a high sucrose diet developed diabetes type 2 characterised by symptoms like high blood sugar and insulin signalling defects, the journal PLoS Genetics reports.

The group also detected signs of diabetes-induced heart malfunction like deteriorating heart function, cardiac arrhythmia and fibrosis.

Further, the scientists were also able to zero in on the biochemical reactions responsible for the negative effect of sucrose on the heart -- the hexosamine pathway -- which provides a tool for therapy, according to Science Daily.

"Diet-induced heart damage is one of our society's most serious health issues. Our flies now give us a tool to explore the role of high dietary sugar, and the means to identify treatments in the context of the whole body," said Ross Cagan, PhD, professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a senior author of the study.